Gallery: Trofeo Pirelli/Trofeo Pirelli 458 EVO at Laguna Seca

RacerViews’ Jim Fonseca was at Laguna Seca for the Trofeo Pirelli/Trofeo Pirelli 458 EVO. The first race of the day featured both the Trofeo Pirelli class in 488 Challenge cars and the Trofeo Pirelli 458 EVO category.

Drivers saw over 140mph cresting Turn 1, before applying maximum braking to slow down in time for the tight Andretti hairpin. Peter Ludwig (Wide World of Cars) was the class of the field and despite two caution periods, was able to manage and maintain his lead throughout the race.

Ludwig is a rookie in Ferrari Challenge but is an experienced GT driver. Martin Fuentes gave valiant chase, but ended up second ahead of Cooper McNeil, his teammate at Scuderia Corsa-Ferrari of Silicon Valley.

In the Trofeo Pirelli 458 EVO class, Joseph Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island), back in the series after an appearance at Lime Rock in 2013, took charge of the race right from the off. He was followed home by rookies Naveen Rao (Ferrari of San Diego) and John Boyd (Ferrari of Denver).

In the competition for the Ladies Cup between Lisa Clark (Scuderia Corsa-Ferrari of Beverly Hills) and Debra Palermo (Ferrari of San Francisco), Lisa edged out Debra after close competition throughout the race.